The manufacture of flavoring compositions for food products has been an important industry for many years. Natural flavors derived from vegetables, fruits, spices, and other sources have been items of commerce which are combined with other foods to provide a wide variety of tastes and textures for the consumer.
One highly desirable flavor is the flavor of fresh roasted peanuts. The peanut, or groundnut as it is often called outside the United States, is the seed or fruit of the peanut plant. It comprises a mixture of peanut oils and peanut solids. The fats or oils are primarily hydrophobic fatty materials which in combination with the substantially proteinaceous peanut solids, can provide pleasing peanut flavor and texture in food systems. Because of their hydrophobic or lipophilic nature, however, the peanut oils tends to separate from the predominantly hydrophilic peanut solids when ground peanuts are mixed in many food systems. Therefore, hydrophobic peanut oil and hydrophilic peanut solids pose a significant problem which needs to be addressed in the formulation of peanut-containing compositions, especially when peanut butter, peanut spreads or spreads containing peanuts, or other peanut-derived or peanut-containing compositions having hydrophobic peanut oil components are added to water-based foods. It will be appreciated that this same problem will exist with respect to a wide variety of food compositions containing both proteinaceous solids, preferably edible plant solids, and fats.
Because aqueous systems generally mix poorly with the hydrophobic or lipophilic peanut lipids or fats, an unstable system is generally created when aqueous systems are mixed with peanut-containing compositions. As these unstable mixtures destabilize, the hydrophobic peanut lipids and the hydrophilic peanut solids tend to separate. The tendency towards separation is called "gravitational instability." Conversely, peanut compositions whose hydrophobic and hydrophilic components resist separation are considered to be "gravitationally-stable" compositions. They are gravitationally stable because gravitational forces do not cause the denser (heavier), predominantly hydrophilic, protein-containing proteinaceous solid materials to separate from the less dense, predominantly lipophilic lipid phase constituents.
The separation of the hydrophilic and lipophilic peanut components, whether it occurs in aqueous systems or otherwise, can result in deleterious changes in the odor and flavor of the products. Undesireable changes in texture present another problem, as does the appearance of such a product, which may lessen the product's appeal to the consumer. These problems can result from both the direct physical separation of components, as well as from resulting microbiological and oxidative deterioration. As will be appreciated, the same problems exist when other substantially proteinaceous plant solids from other oil-containing plant seeds, such as flower seeds (i.e. safflower seeds and sunflower seeds), nuts or legumes are substituted for peanuts in the compositions of the present invention. Although such substitution will diminish the natural peanut flavor possessed by purer peanut products, the oil separation problem does not differ significantly. Indeed, whenever substantially proteinaceous plant solids, which are generally hydrophilic in nature, are contained in a homogeneous mixture or dispersion containing a significant amount of predominantly lipophilic fats or fat substitutes, a similar stability problem will exist. The denser proteinaceous solids will tend to settle out, allowing the fats to collect at the top of the mixture or in pockets distributed within the mixture.
One attempt to solve the problem of combining ground peanuts in food systems involves separating the peanut oil from the proteinaceous peanut solids and combining the separate solid peanut component in the food system and withholding the separated oil. The separation of peanut oil from peanut solids, however, can substantially reduce the peanut flavor.
Other attempts to solve this problem have led those skilled in the art to gravitationally stabilize the components of these products through the use of hardened fats and oils. The hardened fats and oils which are typically used are solid or semi-solid at room temperature, or have been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated to make them so. Those skilled in the art of utilizing peanut flavor in food development, however, have shown concern for the undesireable effect these oleaginous stabilizers have on peanut flavor. While these stabilizers may lessen the development of undesirable oxidative off odors and off flavors, as well as the unacceptable textural changes due to the separation of the lipid phase, the peanut flavor can be masked by the presence of these stabilizers. Additionally, products stabilized with these oleaginous stabilizers tend to destabilize at temperatures above 30.degree. C. when the solid and semi-solid stabilizers liquify.
Efforts to stabilize hydrophilic peanut flavorings using non-oleaginous stabilizers have also been made. Avera (U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,482) produced a gravitationally-stabilized hydrophilic peanut flavoring composition for incorporation in water-based food systems. The Avera composition is stabilized with edible polyhydroxy alcohol compounds such as sorbitol, mannitol or other cyclic or straight-chain alcohols. Although these non-oleaginous stabilizers do not appear to mask the peanut flavor as strongly as the oleaginous stabilizers do, they have flavor of their own which may detract from or diminish the natural peanut flavor.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for a gravitationally-stabilized hydrophilic peanut-containing composition that is compatible with aqueous food systems. Peanut flavorings are needed which resist the development of off odors, off flavors, and undesireable textural attributes, while providing a true peanut flavor. A need also exists for a gravitationally-stabilized, lipophilic, peanut-containing food product which resists the deleterious effects of phase separation cited above while effectively preserving its peanut flavor. Both of these compositions may contain constituents which are substituted for the constituents of ground peanuts. Furthermore, a general need exists for gravitationally-stabilized mixtures or dispersions containing fats and proteinaceous plant solids from a wide variety of sources other than peanuts. The ability to produce new protein rich spread products which are sufficiently gravitationally-stabilized to offer significant shelf stability may open markets for new spread products offering interesting natural and artificial flavors which are unencumbered by unwanted off flavors of unstable products or by flavor masks presented by many other gravitational stabilizers.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the prior art presents problems which are in need of solutions. The present invention provides solutions for these and other problems.